It was a little foggy, but we had great views of the hillsides and
valley below.
Pets and Grief
1 year ago
Showing posts with label beijing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beijing. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Great Wall of China
It was a little foggy, but we had great views of the hillsides and
valley below.
Made Up For Lost Time
We were supposed to tour Beijing on a bicycle ride this morning, but partying last night caused us to wake up very late. We have from 12:30PM to 3:30PM to make the best of the day, because at 4PM, we have to meet the rest of the group for meeting with China Investment Corporation.
So we decided to take a cab from our hotel to view the CCTV Building and the Summer Palace
CCTV Building
The CCTV Building is an architectural tourist attraction. Even after seeing the building, it amazes me how the building supports itself and does not topple over with a strong wind.
The security guards kept us from getting too close to the building, because the building is still under construction (i.e. like many other buildings that we saw in China). China has done a great job at masking the incomplete projects from the public eye.
Summer Palace
Alec and I made it to the Summer Palace with very little time to spare. We need to be headed back to our hotel within 45 minutes or we will miss our meeting with the China Investment Corporation.
The gallery above highlights the pictures that we were able to take during our speed tour of the Summer Palace.
Who Do You Think I Am? I'm a Tourist, but not a Sucker !!!
When we were trying to find a taxi from Summer Palace to our hotel, none of the drivers would agree to take us home unless we agreed to pay 120 RMB for the ride. Now, 120 RMB isn't that expensive (approx. $18 USD), but Alec and I preferred to pay the metered price rather than a negotiated amount. We figured that the metered price would be less than the metered price.
Apparently, the taxi drivers at this location work in a ring together and try to take advantage of the tourists. Neither Alec nor myself would agree to the terms being offered and they wouldn't agree with ours. After a while, I didn't trust them. They could have taken us to a remote location and demanded more money than what was agreed upon. They tried to take advantage of us once, what would prevent them from trying to do it again.
Fortunately, we saw a taxi driving through the area and we hopped into the car and the driver agreed to the metered price. The cab ride home ended up being 30 RMB.
Moral of the Story: Never negotiate or do business with a crooked individual. Never! Don't compromise your values for no one.
So we decided to take a cab from our hotel to view the CCTV Building and the Summer Palace
CCTV Building
The CCTV Building is an architectural tourist attraction. Even after seeing the building, it amazes me how the building supports itself and does not topple over with a strong wind.
The security guards kept us from getting too close to the building, because the building is still under construction (i.e. like many other buildings that we saw in China). China has done a great job at masking the incomplete projects from the public eye.
Summer Palace
Alec and I made it to the Summer Palace with very little time to spare. We need to be headed back to our hotel within 45 minutes or we will miss our meeting with the China Investment Corporation.
The gallery above highlights the pictures that we were able to take during our speed tour of the Summer Palace.
Who Do You Think I Am? I'm a Tourist, but not a Sucker !!!
When we were trying to find a taxi from Summer Palace to our hotel, none of the drivers would agree to take us home unless we agreed to pay 120 RMB for the ride. Now, 120 RMB isn't that expensive (approx. $18 USD), but Alec and I preferred to pay the metered price rather than a negotiated amount. We figured that the metered price would be less than the metered price.
Apparently, the taxi drivers at this location work in a ring together and try to take advantage of the tourists. Neither Alec nor myself would agree to the terms being offered and they wouldn't agree with ours. After a while, I didn't trust them. They could have taken us to a remote location and demanded more money than what was agreed upon. They tried to take advantage of us once, what would prevent them from trying to do it again.
Fortunately, we saw a taxi driving through the area and we hopped into the car and the driver agreed to the metered price. The cab ride home ended up being 30 RMB.
Moral of the Story: Never negotiate or do business with a crooked individual. Never! Don't compromise your values for no one.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Wing Man at Holland House !!
Do I look like I have KFC written all over my face? Maybe KFC is on my forehead, because I do love some chicken! Oh boy, do the Chinese love their KFC.
Nevertheless, I am writing this entry because I played WING MAN once again!
Some day this wing man thing better pay off. I should be inducted into the WING MAN Hall of fame isn't that right Adrian?
I'm a team player and all, but do I always have to choose last, especially when I get the conversation going? Playing the wing tonight wasn't that bad, it is just that her friend was cuter.
Holland House Beijing
Tonight, we went to the Holland House in Beijing. The Holland House is a traveling club that opens for each Olympics. It serves as the headquarters for the Dutch and many eastern European groupies. Pretty fun place! I hope to add a few pictures from the night, but don't count on it.
Check out the Holland House Web Site
Picture Below: My boy Jon Venuto and Mark Vela holding up a model chick at the Holland House. Why couldn't that have been me ? Seriously, one of the girls is some Super Model and Olympic Medalist. Don't know who she is, and if I did, I still wouldn't put her on blast like that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
